


Moonlight.

by chwefilter



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Betrayal, Death, Family Drama, Gay Sex, M/M, Modern Royalty, Monsters, Rivalry, Tragedy, Vampires, Violence, Werewolves, Werewolves in Heat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29991453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chwefilter/pseuds/chwefilter
Summary: Rivals even before being born, Wen Junhui and Xu Minghao are different.Junhui is a lupus alpha, directly descending from the wolf who originated the Wen pack, a really influent and rich pack — and, beyond that, he's a beautiful young man, so there's no doors (and legs) that won't open for him. Except the entry for the dance college, since his parents don't approve the ideia.Minghao is the completly the opposite; he dances since he was three, loves to read, speaks more than five languages fluently, plays twelve different instruments, knows how to paint, fight, photograph, there's nothing he can't do — and that's why he doesn't want to assume his family's business, the Xu's, who are the oldest and most influent vampire clan from history.A golden chance shows up, however, under the moonlight.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Lee Chan | Dino/Lee Seokmin | DK, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. About wolves and vampires.

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Moonlight.](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/775227) by chwefilter. 



> I'm not fluent at english, so this work may contain typos.

Mystical creatures were beings who used to be portrayed in the most absurd way: in the books they were bloodthirsty creatures that remanded themselves with human blood and flesh. At the movies, they were the romantic pair of some very lame Caucasian girl. In popular culture, they were reduced to repellent of children and young people with bubbling hormones, always being mentioned in absurd legends about " _ monsters that persecute couples and little children ill-bred _ ". In fact, in today's world, there was no place for fear anymore. 

Until the day everything changed.

When the Moon swallowed the day at 10:00, the sky had a frightening purplish tone, lightning could be seen in the sky, and thunder swelled on the sensitive eardrums of humans. It was when the first putrefied hand rose from the wet land of the cemetery that doom fell upon the Earth in the form of terrifying and monstrous creatures.

Children were dragged under the bed by the boogeyman, men in suit were caught by swallows, who fought for a leg or arm lying on the ground, zombies chewed the soft skulls of teenagers, even pregnant women and the elderly were victims, no one was spared in that carnage. They had nowhere to run.

But that same day, two great species began to rule. A rabid bat bit a man's neck as a wolf ran through the trees, his snout of blood and fangs growing more and more, forcing him to open his mouth. No one could have imagined it, but two of the greatest clans of all were going to emerge that day. 

The human bitten was Xu Changyin, a Chinese immigrant in his 32s. After being bitten he thought he would die, but the wound healed at a frightening speed, with no further sequelae; for now. It was not at all common the way the demons surrounded and turned away, not even the way witches smelled him and laughed, but even more unusual was the fact that no one dared to attack that human, even if one-third of the population had already been devoured or transformed. 

Suddenly, the hunger for food and the thirst of water became an insatiable  thist of human blood, and the man found himself making his first victim by ambushing a young girl, taking from her blood as if he had not eaten for years. Turns out, well, the girl's not dead. Quite the contrary, Xu  Changyin found herself getting beaten up by a newly transformed vampire and very angry at being transformed. Despite this, that girl would be his future wife, and they would then begin a millennial lineage that would thrive on all vampires.

The Xu.

The wolf had a slightly different path; upon arriving at his hideout, he felt his stomach full of human flesh turn as if his victim was regrouping within himself and trying to escape. He vomited the bones, some organs and cartilage that were not digested, but nothing seemed to end the animal's malaise. Exhausted, he lay down while sheltering from the rain and pandemonium outside, without even imagining his fate.

When he woke up, the shelter seemed much smaller, and such was the wolf's surprise when he stood on all fours and saw huge fragile fingers in place of his strong paws. Naked and frightened, he contemplated his new form in a puddle formed by rain; Wen  Shaoran was a pure werewolf, the only one, very different from the others, who were bitten by other werewolves or born of mixtures — as they called the birth of a baby from two different classes or species. 

That night, Wen returned to the pack from which he was expelled and took his place as leader; which was not very difficult, since now the lupin form of man was much greater than before, the dark fur, red eyes and huge teeth scared anyone or wolf — and as if his physical size was not enough,  Shaoran was a lupus alpha. In a rut, the heat of an alpha, he and Akemi, his partner, had a enormous litter of 9 little wolves, which was a record. 

Of those nine little wolves, each had his destiny. Some married fairies, others witches, ghosts, demons, swallows, of all kinds, but one of the little wolves kept his lineage pure, marrying an omega lupus. And so it followed, the pure Wen maintained this lineage to this present day. 

In  _ 400 _ years, there was  only  _ 0.1%  _ of the world's population left (totaling  _ 7 _ million,  _ 811,000 _ and  _ 189 _ —  _ 188 _ humans ),  as many monsters still needed to feed. Hunting other species could mean war, as many of them declared peace, and cannibalism could be an option, but thanks to this the population of wendigos exceeded the population of gnomes by 11%. Despite the sorrows, the monsters thrived, many families were populous or wealthy, but none reached the Wen or Xu.

The Xu were powerful vampires, causing hunter associations to close and open blood banks instead. They were respected by the other monsters, had always influenced in big business or important treaties, didn't even have enemies because everyone knew they didn't even have a chance to shoot down a Xu; they'd make him arrested in a matter of seconds.

The Wen were doggy, classless, disorganized, smelly, noisy...

— Grandpa! 

An exclaiming female voice made the old vampire raise an eyebrow, holding a huge book.

— Did I go too far? — He murmured, with a little smile. The glare he received, however, made him laugh nervously. — All right, all right. 

In the huge library, the man was sitting in his blood-red leather chair, holding in his hands The Great Storybook of 2420. Around him, scattered around the carpet, were his grandchildren and great-grandchildren of all ages. From the little toothless babies to the teenagers listening to music on their next-generation devices, everyone, in a way, attentive to the story. It was a tradition, practically, for Mr. Xu to gather his descendants to tell the story of how they got there, how they got rich, prevailed, etc. All Xu were very proud of their legacy, everyone knew the story, everyone told about it, but not everyone was interested.

— You shouldn't be telling the kids about this crap, you know how the walls have ears. — The woman, who was anchored on one of the shelves, approached and took two of her triplets, as the other became a bat in time and flew away, bumping into the books and knocking them down. — And besides, we cannot foment intrigue.

— There’s no fomenting intrigues here, woman! That's not intrigue, that's a fact! — The man raised his index finger with his typical blurred expression, making the young people laugh. — Well, I'm starving and I'm dying to make a lunch, who wants to come with me?

The grandchildren and great-grandchildren began to quarrel over who would go to the bank with the man, as their car could not hold all 18 young Xu inside, but soon dispersed, leaving the library almost empty. The woman who had just walked in stared at the figure on the ground with a look of boredom, sighing as she approached.

— You know there's a reason grandpa always leaves you in front, right? 

The question was accurate, because the boy on the floor grumbled and rolled on the floor, lying aside on the clean carpet, with a few dark spots. Maybe yogurt, maybe blood. His gaze rose to the young woman standing and the young man sighed, sitting with his legs and arms crossed, appearing slight irritation. 

— I know, and I won't give in. 

— But you have to. — The girl was insistent, and let herself float, standing upside down in order to face the relative in the eyes while her son, now in human form, played to climb his body. — You're  _ already 122, _ your brother has barely  turned  _ 100, _ and you are the oldest of the new generation of Xu.

— But I don't want to, okay? — The boy's voice was irritated, and his scepter frowned. — I want to go to dance school, work in an office, make crafts, whatever. But I definitely don't want to and don't need to go through the family business, Angel. 

— What's wrong with following the family business, eh? — The girl murmured, her eyelids lowered covering part of her red eyes in a typical "you're being childish" look. — It's not the end of the world, you're going to be rich and all you're going to have to do is take care of blood banks, sign treaties and marry some influential family vampire when  _ you turn 132! _

— Wow, what a good life. — He was ironic, standing up. — Look, if you're not going to say anything else, I'm going to my room.

And in fact the woman didn't say anything else, giving the young man a cue to leave.

Xu Minghao was considered a lost case; not that no other Xu has ever tried or managed to rebel, but none of them mattered so much. Minghao was the eldest son of the eldest son of Xu Changyin's eldest son, which meant a lot and gave him a high status. Of course, if the boy didn't want any other Xu could take his place, but expectations were high, as the position was passed on to the elders in every generation. 

For this reason, the pressure on the young adult was immense and he was very suffocated: his cousins showed clear envy, taking away a few like Angel, his uncles making dubious proposals, his grandparents and older relatives lived giving him the hands and his parents were on his tail all the time, pressuring him. It all started when Minghao came of age at age 120, and since then it's been two long years of torture — in the boy's conception.

He couldn't disagree with Angel, it wasn't a bad thing, but he was far from good. Minghao was a free soul, liked to play, wander, disturb humans who were passing by and drink diet soda in his spare time; getting cooped up in an office scribbling a bunch of papers, sprucing up to sit for hours sitting at a table full of drunken monsters around your neck and having to present a flawless image was nowhere near what Xu wanted in his life.

His greatest passion was dance, and that he did willingly. His parents encouraged him, not least because, as vampires, art was something they enjoyed in every way, even noisy rocks or pops with vague lyrics. The boy was remarkable and much coveted by young lovers, when the Chinese enrolled in a dance school even gained a discount for the torrential amount of new students he brought with him. Even supporting the son, however, it was clear that Minghao's parents did not want him to follow the music and leave family business behind. And that's what frustrated the kid.

Even with the disturbance, no one was forcing him.

He wanted them to be tyrants, to force him, to take everything away from him so he could have a concrete reason to hate all that, but it wasn't true. Of course, apart from a few bad apples, his family was supporting him, teaching him how to act, how to behave, he had had an amazing upbringing, was very spoiled, never lacked of anything, he had nothing to complain about. Part of him had already made up its mind, but at the same time Minghao wondered what it would cost him to make that small sacrifice for his family. 

If he threw himself into bed, very frustrated, and picked up the phone, starting to mess with his social networks. He ended up getting excited and went to get ready, taking very beautiful photos and turning off his phone to take a nap when he passed  _ 1300 _ likes. He dreamed of his future, eventually waking up very scared when he saw himself in a suit, all starched and with a hairwash. 

By Dracula, NO.

** [...] **

In another family as important as, things were really different.

Although very rich and powerful, the Wens did not have all that formal antics as their vampire rivals, but surprisingly they were owners of clothing brands, jewelry, nightclub owners, golf courses. Virtually every chic establishment was one of the Wen's, and the biggest and best parties were held there, including the wedding of a Xu was celebrated there times before an uncle of Minghao dropped wine on the bride's dress and resumed the war that families have waged since the beginning of time. 

Thus, the Wen were not so formal, but they were still a symbol of grace and squander. You could identify a Wen from afar; the beautiful clothes, the delicate and beautiful faces, the combed styled hair, this was typical of all the wolves of that family, and it was no act that they had so many descendants.

A mansion the size  _ of 156 _ football fields was what was needed to house the entire Wen generation.

Peaceful and united — at least for the most part, they were a very respected family. Even before the starched monsters in suits and ties signed any treaty, the powerful alphas were on the front lines of wars, always triumphing. When the humans rebelled, it was a Wen who killed the leader and ended the aggressive protests that were killing the local economy. It was the Wen who extinguished the fighting for marrying a lupus omegas, because no one could beat a Wen. 

But this time, the battle of the Wen was with one Wen himself.

A direct descendant of the man who initiated the pure lineage, Wen Junhui was the only one born alone, unlike his cousins who were quadruplets or even more — the monster dictionary had to be updated twice after the Chinese cousins were married. He had  _ 9-year-old _ twin brothers, but he was still the headache.

Junhui was always an obedient and behaved wolf, even when he began to manifest the signs of a lupus alpha he was still the baby of his mother and the darling of the pack, peed in the newspaper when he was just a puppy and did not eat the bones not to choke, it was a dream of wolf that every omega or alpha dreamed of having, got good grades in school and never got problems, until  _ he turned 18 _ . 

It all started at a dinner at  _ the 45-meter _ table, when a euphoric Junhui entered the dining room with a bunch of papers in hand. It was on that day that he told his parents for the first time (with great difficulty, as one of his cousins swallowed a bone and was being helped by twelve relatives at once) about wanting to enter dance college. 

The answer was  ** no. **

Junhui tried in every possible way, but his parents were irreducible, as a Wen's destiny was to hunt, make beautiful little wolves and be buried in the family's personal cemetery. He first dyed his huge hair, making his grandmother faint when she saw his platinum head, but only earned him some good slaps, just like when he shaved his head. He tried to pretend he was a vegetarian, but the evening dinner was rib, one of the Chinese's favorite dishes. He even threatened to throw himself out the window, but his father put him on a leash before he could materialize his threat.

It was on a day of slippage that Xiaofeng, his father, told him the following sentence:  _ "I pay for your dance college when you bring me a  _ _ head _ !". The Chinese were crazy, in fact, and soon he was already working on a whole plan, which would come into action on the day of chicken soup, as all the wolves flipped with a full belly on the nearest couch after dinner.

He was a little nervous, after all he had never made any victims in his whole life. Of course, he fed on the hunts his family made and remembered eating raw human meat when he started weaning from his omega mother, but he had never been the person who killed someone to feed. As he'd like to think, _ " there's a first time for everything _ ."

And it would be the first time, but not the last time those kids got into a mess together.


	2. The Moon is watching.

In the same week that Wen's father dug his own grave, Minghao dug his by giving in.

At first he was still irreducible, denying all the proposals they made to him and muttering all the time about how much he hated formalities and everything, but in the end reason ended up winning the emotion. His cousin Angel was right, it wasn't all bad, he just needed to put on a tie and talk nice to swim in cash for the rest of his eternity!

Of course, even though he already had a verdict, Minghao's pride made him wait two weeks before sneaking into his father's office, which he celebrated as if it were a Cup goal. The man was so, so happy, that he then made a proposal to his son: he would start in the family business and, in return, could go to dance school, which would last 4 years, with the promise that he would work as a businessman even with a different background. The young man, also happy, did not care, because just being able to do what he likes, even temporarily, was enough. Maybe time wouldn't change Jiu's mind?

Word spread through the big mansion and soon everyone was congratulating young Xu, who was super happy (for dance college), that night everyone got drunk on wine and blood. Drunk, the boy plotted a route of popular spots among humans with his uncles and some cousins, since every Xu vampire who started in business would need to kill and bring a human's heart home. Easy, isn't it?

Not really. 

Even though that's all it was, it had a whole ritual. It needed to be on a Full Moon night, and the chosen one needed to leave a heart on an altar in the basement of the mansion, illuminated by the light of the Moon that went through a huge window at exactly 00:00, or it couldn't be done. And if it couldn't, yo'd have to wait a whole year, because this ritual could only be done in January. After that, the Xu would know if it worked if the heart levitated, so the chosen one would feed on the pulsating organ with lunar permission. 

This worked almost the same way for the Wen: the wolf was supposed to bring a human's head home, but the body should be in another bag, otherwise the ritual would not work. Also taking place on a Full Moon night in January, the ritual would be consummated if the head and body were served to the older members of the pack. If the loose head opened its eyes and stared at the chosen one, it was because the ritual worked. Otherwise, the head would scream at the four winds that the chosen one failed, and he would be punished.

They were not confirmed, but rumors said that some Wen would mysteriously disappear if they failed. 

And the case further complicated for the alpha, because the changes were clear in the wolf that could complete: its hair darkened, the teeth grew, the presence grew stronger, the rut was regulated, it was almost like being born again. And not that Junhui wasn't a strong wolf; quite the contrary, he was one of the most vivid and strong wolves of the whole pack, but the change was very strong and even the weak and slender cousins of the Chinese became strong and ferocious wolves after going through the ritual. It was something that brought a lot of power and status. 

Despite this, Junhui's parents were not too worried. His mother was an alpha lupus and his father an omega lupus, and the few lupus in the family had already passed away or were of Junhui's lineage. Even if there was someone better able to take over as leader of the pack, the preference would be theirs, and Junhui's grandmother was the current leader of the pack, walking slowly to the end of her glory days. The boy was her favorite grandson and she didn't hide it, even being one of the only ones who heard the boy's dream.

It was with her that Junhui set up his plan to flee at dawn, bringing a human head back. 

When the Full Moon came, a lot of people were happy. Sorceresses could do their spells, patched monsters were born from electricity, bats flew, witches laughed, it was the perfect night for everything. The only beings who didn't care were humans, who, even in low numbers, still went around when they could. Scattered in small provinces, they could live in peace thanks to treaties, but it was no secret that some humans did not care and that no creature would forgive it.

While Minghao was pruned by several maids, who helped him choose clothes for the big day, Junhui stared at the ceiling while his grandmother made up some excuse to gather the older wolves in their dining room. Two different young people, of different creations and with different goals, were with determination in the look, will, desire. 

Minghao hugged his mother and father, who gave him words of encouragement and tight hugs, proud to see their eldest son taking the reins of the situation, dressed in his Victorian clothes, the black cape flying in the cold wind of the night. The other family members were also around watching the Chinese walk toward the large wooden door, ready for a fresh start. With a farewell smile, the boy stared at the Moon and closed his eyes, turning into a bat. Taking off, he disappeared among the dark clouds full with rain that night, so special and decisive. 

Junhui was locked in his room after simulating a very bad fight with his grandmother but that in the end convinced him and theothers, shocking everyone and making his mother yell at him to enter the room and not have dinner. With a discreet wink, he climbed the stairs of the mansion until he reached his room and locked the door, looking for a black robe at the bottom of his closet full of expensive and beautiful clothes. He put on his clothes over his pajamas and then leaned on the window, feeling the wind swing his brown hair before feeling his bones stirring under his skin. He covered his mouth to grunt the growls of pain as he felt his hair sticking out his pores to get out, and the painful transformation was turning Junhui into a huge gray wolf. He jumped out of the window while still a biped being, falling on his four legs and running through the huge Wen field, with the cape a little loose on his body swinging in the strong wind. 

Coincidentally or not, a themed party was taking place in one of the locations the two boys chose; an random human was having his birthday, and then several other humans came together to celebrate with them, wearing various costumes. Human technology advanced almost nothing, since the population was decimated mercilessly, so those people were wearing the same clothes that their _ great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents _ wore  as teenagers.

Minghao returned to human form right at the entrance to the site and then used his powers to convince the security guard that he had been invited as well. Junhui was out of patience, so he ran into the form of a wolf and took advantage of the darkness of the place to turn back, wearing the mantle of disguise. 

There were so many potential victims there that the two of them didn't even know how to choose, there were so many faces and so many people. Minghao was being a little picky, not least because he was not going to drink any blood; avoided altered men or women with colored hair, did not want too thin and not overweight prey, was even smelling some people in order to smell perfume or any odor that bothered his sense of smell. 

Junhui didn't care. Man, woman, young, old, ugly, handsome, none of it mattered. His nose smelled everyone, but he was captivated by a young woman who wore a vampire costume and had her arms crossed, sitting on a bench with a clearly upset expression.

Wen wasn't the best at talking or flirting, but he was still confident on himself. Although he never had any lasting relationships or anything, he knew well how to captivate someone, how to get where he wanted, he was not a silly man. It was not for nothing that he was always at first in the ranking of Wen most popular, most beautiful, most everything.

Minghao, who had also liked the girl, was the other way around. He was the most popular and beautiful too, but hated socializing, so much so that he had only dated two people for a very short time. People collect stories of the turn-downs they had taken of Xu, and what they fantasized about most was a night with that man so unreachable. 

The wolf was faster, sitting next to the young woman.

— Good evening, can I sit here? — The Chinese asked, receiving an affirmative. — I'm sorry to ask, is that... You don't seem very happy in a place you should be.

— Oh, no, it's okay... It's just that my boyfriend dumped me. — The smile the boy opened was scary, so scary that he stopped himself before the victim realized. — I'm so upset!

— I imagine you are, and I'm sorry... — Wen said, in a false tone of pity. It's not like the Chinese don't care, but he doesn't care. — Is there anything I can do for you?

With that question, Jun got in the way. His plan was to seduce the girl, take her to the nearest scrub and cut her away mercilessly, but in the end ended up dancing clinging to a stranger for much of the night, which was not in his plans. Without patience, he squeezed the girl's ass and whispered some lies in her ear, achieving the feat of dragging her.

To the bathroom.

Junhui liked to kiss, to feel desired, but he was literally staring at his own reflection in the broken mirror while the girl's hard tongue shoved into his mouth, her sassy hand squeezing his cock who was more unconscious than the drunk thrown from the side of the dumpster, with his mouth dirty with vomit and about to launch another jet into the can. Sometimes he would let out some false heavy breathing or grope some part of the body of the girl, but in general just wanted to give up all that and go make little wolves as his family wanted. It was a presence, however, that caused the Chinese to come out of boredom.

Mad, Minghao entered the bathroom after losing his favorite prey out of sight. He had run the whole party, but it seemed like it was only getting worse, no one was good enough to have his heart extracted and the only decent person was gone. He means, there was, because he found her in the arms of a man in a  hood in the bathroom.

The two didn't know each other personally. They had seen each other in photos on Instagram, heard about each other's names and everything, but the families of both were enemies before the boys even thought about being born, so they could never be in the same environment thanks to the stingy that their families had. Despite this, the boys never thought of meeting, nor found themselves in the middle of a hunt.

Recognizing his prey in the wolf's arms, the vampire made the fallen drunk stand up and leave, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Leaning against the sink, he snapped his fingers and made the girl's hard tongue soften, not because she learned to kiss, but because she fell unconscious into Junhui's arms, who stared at the other Chinese with a raised eyebrow.

— I saw her first. — Minghao spoke low, calm, but with the expression saying everything he could not say thanks to the etiquette classes he had for 100 years. 

— I touched her first. — Junhui responded in a normal tone, with a little smile growing on his lips. — If you want to make a victim today, find someone else.

— I don't think you understand, Wen. — Xu said, leaning out of the sink and grabbing the  unconcious girl's wrist. — I saw her first. 

— Bullshit.

The two stared angrily at the look, until Minghao smiled and made a gesture with his hand, which threw Junhui on the wall to the point of sinking it. The girl went to the ground, but soon floated up to the arms of the youngest Chinese (who was 22 years old at the ordinary age), who gave a wink. 

— I appreciate you taking her distracted, you're helping me, and a lot today. — Minghao winked again, unlocking the door. — I promise that when I am in charge of everything, I will send some bones to your family.

And he walked away.

It wasn't hard to control everyone at the party so they wouldn't look at him as he walked with an unconscious woman in his arms, and soon the boy was already walking towards a thicket, standing on top of a ravine while looking for a more discreet place to perform the extraction, but a growl behind him distracted him.

— Give me this girl now.

It was a matter of Minghao turning his back on a wolf-shaped Junhui to jump over himself, causing the two to roll down the ravine. All three of them, actually, since the prey went along. As the two monsters stooled in the middle of the bush, the body was rolling and rolling non-stop. A creak made them both stop fighting, looking wide-eyed, and they stopped the quarrel to check on what happened. The vision was pretty ugly.

Lying in the lower part of the thicket, the girl's body lay all dirty with dirt. The legs and arms were full of cuts, even with some open fractures, the clothes were completely torn in the fall and the face was the worst; the girl was all deformed, with blood coming out of all possible places, the cartilage in her ears was torn thanks to the earrings that dropped in the middle of the path, the lips and skin of her face were skinned by the friction of the sandy floor and full of stones, and the worst of all was the neck, which hung completely to the left with a pointy bone coming out of the side. Not to mention, of course, with the huge rebar running through the girl's pectoral. 

— Look what you've done! 

Junhui came out of the trance who came in looking at that meat pudding and stared at the other Chinese, who was too close to him with his chest stewed and his finger pointed at his face. He could give in to lupin instinct and bite that ugly finger until he ripped it off, but he was content to cross his arms and get close, trying to frighten the boy with his size.

— If you'd looked for another victim and left me alone with that one, we'd both win. — He raised an eyebrow, staring at the youngest from top to bottom. — And besides, you might as well find someone else.

— With 30 minutes to midnight left, do you think I have time for this?

What the Chinese said at the edge of anger caused them both to panic at the shock of reality; it was 30 minutes before midnight. Junhui was more than nervous, terrified, and Minghao was angry above anything. Suddenly, in a ray of lucidity, the younger man grabbed the wolf by the collar of his robe and shook him, making him regain consciousness as well.

—  What parts do you need?

— From the head and the rest of the body.

— I need the heart.

— If I give you the heart, can I have the rest?

— Sure, you can have everything else!

For the first time since they saw each other, the two Chinese cooperated. While the older man dismembered the body with a shovel, the vampire pulled out the rebar with the help of a dagger. Luckily, the rusty piece of metal just shaved on the heart, leaving a remarkable mark, but not damaging the organ in general. Minghao had already finished storing the heart inside a cloth bag while Junhui was still meticulously joining the limbs and organs inside a larger bag, as the head had already been stored elsewhere. He cleared his throat, drawing the wolf's attention.

— I don't know why you need these things, but good luck. — He said without looking into the eyes of the other, nor knowing why he was saying those words. — I hope you get what you want.

— Same to you. — The wolf said, too busy trying to fit the mutilated foot of the girl between her chest and one of her buttocks. — And I will. 

Without further words, the vampire was walking towards his home, as did the wolf after he finished his task.

** [...] **

The first thing Jiu did when he saw his son bloodied while holding an equally stained bag of scarlet liquid was to cry with pride, hugging his firstborn and shouting through the house that his son was a real man. Even with envy and everything, everyone was celebrating Xu's success, which was soon sent underground for the ritual to begin. With his hands shaking, the boy dropped his heart at the altar, moving away a little.

— What happened to the heart? There is an injury... — The remark coldly spoken by an uncle of Minghao made him tremble.

— The victim fell from a ravine as I followed her, eventually being impaled by rubble. — What the boy said was not a lie, at least not completely. Despite this, he managed to convince his relatives. 

— You put so much fear in her that she lost the fear of getting hurt because of the fear of dying, you’re really a Xu.

Minghao opened a fake smile because he knew he could deceive his family but could never deceive the force that ruled the monsters. The Moon was powerful and could belied him right there, right in front of him. Not only did it err or not fulfill some stage of a ritual or spell could make it go wrong, but being dishonest did not please the Moon, so it was not uncommon for anyone of any kind or clan to be sacrificed when denied before others by the Moon.

Lying to the Moon was as serious as disrespecting someone older, even more, in fact.

— Today I proudly come to begin the initiation ritual, and the chosen one is Xu Minghao, direct descendant of Xu  Changyin and my firstborn. — Minghao's father was pure pride, and the last time that man smiled so much was at the birth of his youngest. — Beyond the Moon, we will see a Xu go to the road of men, the path of success, the trail to victory. Today we are starting a young man who will become a great vampire, and if the Moon smiles on us, this young man will become the head of the Xu in the distant future. — He opened a dusty book, while the candles lit themselves, and scratched his throat, putting on his reading glasses before it began. — 400 years ago...

Minghao's mind was clouded and he didn't hear anything else, he just saw his mouths moving through the corner of his eye but didn't understand anything they were talking about, it was like they were speaking Greek to him. His mind was in several places, and for a moment he found himself thinking about that dirty Junhui dog, which brought him chills.  _ Why were you thinking about that mutt? He was just a little kind of desperate, if he wasn't in such a hurry he wouldn't even care! _ Still, he kept thinking about the Chinese until he felt two hands on his shoulders, which scared him a little. Despite this, it was only his mother being part of the ritual.

— I'm very proud of you, little bat. — Lian said, making the boy feel even worse for deceiving not only the Moon but also his sweet mother. 

— Thank you, Mom. — That's what the lump in his throat allowed him to say.

His father said Latin words and the other members repeated them, the candles flickered, lit and turned off, the room went into complete darkness and lit up afterwards. Minghao was scared, so afraid of being discovered that he felt he was going to faint, a thin layer of sweat covering his pale body. Suddenly he felt a slight push and climbed the three steps slowly, stopping in front of the altar with some tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

_ — Moon, please...—  _ Was what he thought before closing his eyes, as the ritual commanded, but hidmind went beyond.

He could hear whispers and murmurs very low, but everyone shut up after a few minutes and soon the Chinese was already opening his eyes and preparing to turn around and admit the whole farce. Despite this, he came across the heart, pulsating lived right in his face.

His reaction was to feel his legs soften and stumble, falling on his back and taking his mother, who was still there, along. The Chinese man's father rushed to assist the woman while he was raised by some older members, who swore that the boy had fainted with emotion. Luckily, Minghao was still conscious, watching that heart floating. But...

How did he manage to circumvent the ritual?

** [...] **

On the other side of town, Junhui climbed the windows and threw the bags on the floor carefully, throwing himself at the floor and sighing, finally getting rid of the warm mantle and being able to cool off with the breeze that came from the outside. He couldn't believe he'd done all that hidden, and he could harm not only himself but his grandmother if anyone found out about that lie.

It was in the midst of his daydreams that someone punched the door, causing the alarmed Chinese to throw the robe over the bags and dry the sweat quickly from his face, still straightening his hair when he unlocked the door. He was the one who received his father, but he had his eyes watered, all silly as he hugged his puppy hard, which scared him a little. Squeezing the emotional father in his arms, the boy could see his mother behind him, smiling proudly — and could also see his thirty cousins hiding in the curve of the stairs to confirm the novelty.

— You were a puppy until yesterday, and now you're becoming a boy! —  Xiaofen had a tearful voice. 

— Dad, I'm already 24, I'm already a boy! — The boy grumbled, but his father's cry made him laugh low and squeeze the strongest man in his arms. — Thank you for encouraging me.

— Your father was trying to discourage you, but I see I raised you as a good alpha, son. — Xia, who until then was quiet, said, happy to see how an excellent alpha had been when it came to passing on the determination she had to her boy. — Xiao, release the alpha, let him bathe and prepare for the ritual.

Jun's arms stiffened around his father for a moment, and he became static. Suddenly, the aggressive talk on the stairs was silenced, as the shouting began inside the young man's head.  ** How are you going to hide this from your parents, you idiot?! ** ,  _ be quiet-  _ ** It's the end! ** _ SHUT UP, I HATE Y _ _ OU _ . Junhui's discussions with his wolf were always noisy, after all, he was a lupus alpha, had the most stubborn and imperative wolf of all. Seeing that the son was probably fighting with his wolf, his mother took the lead and fondly caressed the boy's threads, a gesture that was common even if the demonstration of physical affection among alphas was not so recurrent, regardless of whether they were blood relatives. 

— Come on, boy, I know you must be pretty tired. — She patted him on the shoulder a few friendly times after being able to free him from her husband, even though it was her son holding him. 

Nodding with a fake smile, Wen found himself alone as his family dispersed to gossip about the great news. Growling with frustration, he was undressing as he still cursed his wolf of all possible ugly names until he found himself under the icy shower water, slipping to the tiled floor while sighing with relief, even momentarily. 

As the water flowed down his face, washing away dirt and blood, his mind traveled far, far away, in a place where he didn't need to kill any human to prove anything to anyone, a place where he only danced all day, was pampered by beautiful women and Xu Minghao.

** Xu Minghao?! **

Junhui's wolf was the proudest in the world, he was sure. What Junhui had with ego, his wolf had to had in stubbornness and hurt. And he definitely wouldn't forgive him for thinking about the potato-nose Xu's son, enemies of his pack since he was still in his father's hairy omega wolf testicles. Giving a strong headbutt to the wall in order to silence the foul-mouthed wolf, Junhui screamed in anger, pulling his own hair and sticking his head under the water.

— Are  _ you trying to drown your wolf again? _

The voice of Adele, one of Junhui's cousins, caused him to cease his rage and take a deep breath, sending her away while turning off the register, curling up in a towel as he unlocked the door, as he needed the help of his aunts to find a nice outfit.

The room was filled with euphoric women, who did not bother with the naked boy, nor did he even bother; wolves were constantly naked after some transformation gone wrong or in the baths together, not to mention that Junhui had already been bathed by all his aunts in 24 years of life, whether when he was a little baby until when he was exhausted or too injured after training. 

The clothes were of a red fabric, chic, imported. His hair was perfectly aligned, a family necklace adorned his beautiful neck, and Junhui's Adam's apple went up and down to what he looked at in the mirror, feeling the cold wind blowing in his temperature-wrinkled testicles — he would definitely give his uncles a advice about the fact that wolves needed to wear underwear. 

A human corridor was made from Junhui's bedroom door to the stairs, where the boy could no longer see. Nervous, he was walking among his relatives, who cast supportive glances at him and some even mocking him when they realized that the poor thing probably had his ass freezing (especially Junhui's silly cousins and brothers, part of it was the fault of the very one who was always mocking others along with them). He were already in the main hallway of the house, and the closer he were to getting, the older the people around him. He saw his parents and winked at them, lowering his head as he stood outside the older people's dining room.

Unlike the rest of the pack, the older wolves were entitled to their own rooms. When they needed to discuss important issues such as finances, fights or friction, it was there that they met in order to avoid silly talk, rumors or panic among others. Being in that room before 60 could only mean two things: either you're too screwed up, or something really good is going to happen to you.

The alpha felt naked with all those looks on him. That table was the only normal-size furniture inside that huge residence, since only thirteen people were inside. Among them, Junhui's great-uncles of all ages, his great-grandmother (already well old and debilitated, but well aware of everything), his alpha grandfather and his alpha grandmother. This couple was something that no one dared to comment on, because even if they love each other above all, the wolves of both were always arguing, even if they knew they needed each other. No one knows how, when or why, but after 13 years of marriage the Wolf of Sicheng submitted to the wolf of Guanzhen. Even though they were two lupus alphas, they both loved each other very much and had twelve little wolves. Jun's feline eyes were low and he sat in the only empty chair, playing with his fingers under the table.

— And to think that I took this little wolf in my arms... — One of Junhui's aunts, who was always felt moved in all rituals, began. 

— You always say that every time! — An uncle scolded. 

— And I'm going to keep saying, I saw these little wolves in the placenta!

If it wasn't for the tension and fear of getting caught, Junhui would have laughed. If the amusing weather hadn't helped at all, the tense mood made the Chinese even more nervous as a family member walked in, carrying several trays on top of a cart. He was putting the plates on the table and removing their lids, revealing the body parts of the girl the boy killed earlier; for the first time, the wolf was disgusted to see meat in front of him. 

There were no words, no old books, no Latin, there was none of that. The candles were lit by the wolf that served everyone and soon and withdrew, leaving the elders and the young man alone to delight in the victim's flesh. An uncle pulled her chest with his hand and stared furiously at the huge hole in the girl's chest — not least because he couldn't pull his heart out of her without smearing her pecs. The Chinese was already ready to be picked up and cooked alive when he heard:

— Snacking before us? You better don't do that again, the Moon sees everything!

The elders fell in laughter and Junhui laughed along, but nervous and with the silk stained with his sweaty hands nailed to his thighs, his big nails marking his thighs and leaving small scratches. Gradually, they cut the meat and put it on the grill while the Chinese stared at that mutilated head, eyes closed; even behind his closed eyelids, he felt those eyes watching him. 

When the first bite was given, the eyes opened.

The moment Junhui saw her mouth opening to scream, he grabbed her head by the nape of the neck and left a bite on her lips, hearing the sound of facial bones breaking as his teeth stuck in the soft skin, her tongue coming together when the alpha pulled up, holding a huge loaf of flesh in his mouth. He came across the shocked looks of the elders, and felt the hands that held the girl's head lose their firmness, but Junhui's grandmother stood and lifted up the scepter she always carried, shouting:

— That's my boy!

The others started screaming too and soon began to feast in the poor girl's remains. Suddenly the head came out of the trembling hands of the young wolf and ended up among the sharp fangs of others, who growled through a piece. He could see his lifeless eyes staring between the various hungry alphas and omegas, and he slipped on the chair with his hands on his face after spitting out the flesh he had in his mouth discreetly, peeking through his fingers. 

"May  _ the Moon have mercy on me. _ ", was what he thought before closing his  eyes, hearing his wolf shout something he did not quite understand.


End file.
